Grand Theft Auto 5: Real Life Venice Beach Compared to Vespucci Beach

Rockstar nails the level of detail.

Grand Theft Auto 5 has finally released and in between $1 billion in revenue within the first three days, unanimous critical acclaim and an endless amount of praise, it’s already a front-runner for Game of the Year. However, none of that becomes immediately apparent when playing the game. Whether you’re rushing through traffic or stopping in select locations, one thing that immediately sticks out in GTA 5 is the detail.

For example, Vespucci Beach, which is supposed to be modeled on the real-life Venice Beach. Aside from a few blurry textures here and there, it looks simply phenomenal. That Rockstar North put in so much intricate detail but changed enough to make Vespucci its own entity is mind-boggling.

As such, this is only a fraction of the entire Grand Theft Auto 5 experience, as there are mountains to climb, towns to explore and an entire underwater world to navigate. Stay tuned to our official review of the game in the coming days.